Emerald Academy Renewed for 10 More Years in Knoxville
Knoxville parents will continue to have an outstanding, tuition-free education option for their children following the renewal of Emerald Academy’s charter for 10 more years.
The Knox County Board of Education authorized the renewal at its Jan. 9 meeting following a thorough, yearlong evaluation process. This process culminated in the unanimous recommendation of Knox County Schools’ Charter Review Committee that the charter for Emerald Academy — described as a “model charter school” and “a cornerstone of the Knoxville community” — be renewed for another 10-year term.
“We are thrilled with the outcome of the vote,” said Emerald Charter Schools’ President Steve Diggs. “Since opening Emerald Academy in 2015, we have been committed to providing young people — especially those from our city neighborhoods — with an opportunity to alter their academic trajectory. On behalf of Emerald Academy’s faculty and staff, I want to express my gratitude to Knox County Schools and the board for their support. We look forward to the next 10 years and staying faithful to our mission: to prepare urban scholars for the college of their choice and community leadership.”
Emerald Academy is a coed public school for kindergarten through eighth grade students that provides a college preparatory education. Emerald Academy was honored as the Tennessee Charter School of the Year in 2021 and was again a finalist for this award in 2023. Family demand for Emerald Academy’s supportive, family-like atmosphere is high. Every year, the number of applications to enroll in Emerald Academy has exceeded the number of seats available, and the school has operated with a waitlist of future scholars for every grade level. In parent surveys, the majority of parents consistently rate their level of satisfaction with Emerald Academy as 4 or 5 out of 5.
A few highlights of Emerald Academy’s academic success include:
The first year in which Emerald Academy had TNReady results for scholars in all tested grades was 2020-21. Comparing schoolwide proficiency of third through eighth graders from 2020-21 to 2023-24 provides not only an apples-to-apples comparison, but also clear evidence of Emerald scholars’ increasing proficiency.
Schoolwide proficiency in English Language Arts increased by 39%, from 19.1% to 26.6%.
Schoolwide proficiency in grade-level Math (not including Algebra) grew by 24%, from 20.3% to 25.2%.
Schoolwide proficiency in Social Studies more than doubled: the percentage of scholars performing on or above grade level surged by 109%, from 17.5% to 36.6%.
Emerald Academy alumni outpaced their urban high school peers in achieving benchmark scores in all four ACT subjects in 2022-23 (the most recent year for which data are available). The ACT organization has determined that meeting these benchmarks is linked to successfully completing first-year college courses.
Knox County Schools’ most recent evaluation of Emerald Academy rated the school’s performance compared to the urban schools most of its scholars would otherwise attend. The score: a perfect 4 out of 4. Emerald Academy has outperformed these urban schools in each of the past six years for which data are available, per KCS’ annual evaluations of Emerald.
Emerald Academy is closing the gap in academic outcomes between urban and suburban youth – something that has never been achieved in Knoxville at scale. Specifically, Emerald Academy is outpacing Knox County Schools in increasing student proficiency in reading and math. Over the past three school years, Emerald Academy’s reading proficiency increased by 13% (compared to 9% for the district), and Emerald Academy’s math proficiency rate increased by 23% (compared to 13% for the district). In addition, in 2023-24, Emerald Academy’s middle school reading proficiency reached the 50th percentile across all Knox County middle schools.
Enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is open now. For more information or to apply, visit emeraldacademy.org or call (865) 249-7223. Translation services are available.